Washing machine



March 10, 1936.

J. MoTYcKA 2,033,146

WASHING MACHINE Filed April 16, 1950 4 Sheets-Sheet 1 March 10, 1936. JMOTYCKA .l 2,033,146

WASHING MACHINE Filed April 16, 1950 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 as #l f7 4 49 Il y47 000mm@ 0 f o 0 0 0 l f 3 f JJ' .ff\ f 4 3 /Z L\ l 3f l f /Il ,f l 1 ii t I I l l V/,f l l /3 /4 O @o o 60 March 1.0, 1936.

J. MOTYCKA WASHING MACHINE Filed April 16, 1930 4 Sheets-Sheet March 10,1936. J. MOTYCKA WASHING MACHINE 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 Filed April 16, 1930IN V EN TOR.

Patented Mar. 10, 1936 UNITED STATES' PATENT OFFICE WASHING MACHINEJoseph Motycka, Larchmont, N. Y.,

assignor to Jay Grant De Remer, New York, N. Y. Application April 16,1930, Serial No. 444,851 18 Claims. (Cl. 68-18) centrifugal apparatussuch as a washing machine,

in which the spinning basket is self-balancing and in which gyration orwabbling due to out of balance forces of the spinning basket issubstantially avoided.

Another object of the invention is to provide an improved. washingapparatus in which the basket is capable of washing by a gyratingmovement, and of drying by a spinning movement substantially withoutgyration.

Another object of the invention is to provide an improved washingapparatus in which a gyrating basket may be so operated that thecontents of the basket are thrownl against the bottom of its walls andthus held down in the basket by inertial forces, and particularly suchan apparatus in which the basket is perforated to permit the expulsionof water when the basket is spun, but in which the washing isprincipally effected in a part of the basket suiilciently imperforate tomaintain a body of liquid about the clothes and avoid tendency of theliquid to hold the clothes against the wall of the basket.

Another object of the invention is to provide an improved gyratingdevice. Other objects of the invention will be apparent and readilyunderstood from the following description and claims.

This invention relates particularly to a type of washing and dryingmachine in which a basket adapted to receive the clothes or otherobjects to be washed may be gyrated without spinning or may be spunwithout gyrating. A body of washing liquid, which is usually soapywater, is maintained in a. reservoir outside of such basket and isforced or allowed to flow into the basket during the washing operation.VDuring the washing operation the basket is tilted so that its axis isat a substantial angle to the vertical and is gyrated at a speedsumcient to cause a substantial centrifugal action and thus to set up amore or less circular flow about a substantially vertical axis. In thistype of washing apparatus the gyration, after causing the stream ofliquid to assume a circular ow as described above, leaves the stream atfirst unsupported on one side except by its own inertia and then, as thegyration continues, the bottom of the basket is raised on that side sothat it batters the stream and causes an effective agitation thereof.When the washing operation is complete the basket may be returned to asubstantially vertical position and spun at high speed so that the wateris forced through perforations in the side of the basket by centrifugalforce.

According to my present invention the basket is advantageously supportedfrom above so that the gyration during the washing operation causes 5the washing liquid 'and clothes to be thrown against the bottom of thewalls of the basket. The basket is supported by a universal joint androtated by a flexible coupling. Thus the basket,

when spinning, may assume any position, slightly 1 od from the vertical,which is required in order to bring the center of mass of the basket andits contents into vertical alignment with the center of rotation of saidexible coupling. This mounting permits the basket to be perfectlybalanced 15 during the spinning operation even though it may be unevenlyloaded and thus, so long as its axis of rotation remains vertical thehighly objectionable vibration which commonly results from unevenloading of a. spinner basket is avoided. Un- 420 fortunately theflexible mounting has not heretofore been a solution of the problem ofvibration because the basket could not be kept on a vertical axis butwould almost immediately begin to precess, that is, to `rotate followinga spiral path, swings farther and far- `ther out toward the horizontal,and will bring the basket eventually against the casing unless some stopis provided. It is not possible to solve this problem by directlyopposing the outward 30,

swing of the basket since whatever means is used to oppose this swingand to attempt to hold the basket to its proper axis would serve only totransmit the gyrationai forces to the supporting apparatus. I have nowdiscovered that it is pos- 35 sible by suitably directed forces to avoidthe precession in the spiral path by introducing a new precession towardthe desired position of the axis of rotation.

This invention is based upon the law of ro- 40 tating bodies that aforce applied to the axis oi.' the rotating body does not produce thesame reaction which it would if the body were at rest but, on thecontrary, produces a motion perpendicular to that which would beproduced in a body at rest. My invention takes advantage of this law byapplying to the axis of a rotating body supported by a universal jointon the axis of rotation a force which is always perpendicular to thevertical plane through its axis of rotation. 'I'he reac- 50 tion to sucha force is in a direction perpendicular to the force, that is, it willbe in such direction as to bring the axis of rotation either toward oraway from the vertical, depending upon the direction of the force andthe direction in which about an axis which, 25

the body is rotated. If the direction in which the force is applied isproperly related to the direction of rotation of the basket, the basketis brought back to its desired position and the spiral precession whichwould naturally result from the force of gravity is thereby avoided.

In the drawings Figure 1 is a partial cross section through an apparatusconstructed according to my invention;

Figure 2 is a partial cross section similar to Figure 1 but showing thebasket in the washing position;

Figure 3 is a cross section in detail of the supporting and spinningmechanism;

Figure 4 is a top plan view of the gyrating cup drive; n

Figure 5 is a cross section through a modified form of gyrating cup;

Figure 6 illustrates a modified form of the supporting and spinningmechanism adapted particularly for use with the gyrating mechanismillustrated in Figure 4; and

Figure '7 is a cross section through the lower part of the transmissionmechanism.

Referring particularly to Figure 1, I have illustrated a washing machinesuitable, for example, for use as a domestic washing machine. Thiscomprises broadly a tripod frame III which is illustrated as made ofU-shaped section and on which is secured a base I I. A casing I2 iscarried by the base I I and the frame III and in the present instance isformed with a groove I3 which is intended to indicate a proper waterlevel tor the operation of the machine. The lower part of the casing I2below the groove I3 is adapted to form a reservoir to contain thewashing liquid, ordinarily soapy water. The upper part of the casingserves both as a guard to protect the operator from the rotating basketand also to collect the water which is thrown from the basket and toreturn it to the reservoir at the bottom of the casing. Beneath thecasing and supported from the base II through the hinge I4 is a suitableelectric motor I8. This motor.through the frictional gears I5 and I6serves to drive the vertical shaft I1. Due to the hinged mounting of themotor its own weight serves to hold the gears I5 and I6 in frictionalengagement. By suitable placing of the hinge I4, depending upon theweight of the motor I8, any desired pressure between the frictionalgears I5 and I6 may be secured and this pressure is advantageously suchas to provide for slip in case of overload on the motor.

On the bottom of the shaft I1 I have provided a centrifugal circulatingpump I3 which is adapted to withdraw water through the strainer 2D inthe bottom of the casing and the drain pipe 2I and to circulate thewater through the pipe 22 back into the basket 23 during the washingoperation. The pipe 22 is also provided with a movable outlet, by whichthe liquid from the pump I9 may be diverted from the pipe 22 and thusdrain the liquid from the machine. Instead of this construction the pipe22 or part of it may be flexible as, for example, a rubber hose, so thatthe upper discharge nozzle shown above the casing I2 of the drawings maybe removed from the position shown and placed over the edge of a tub ordrain when the liquid is being removed from the machine. A valve |22 maybe provided in the pipe 22, as indicated, to stop the flow through pipe22 from pump I9.

Above the gear I6 on the shaft I1 is a second friction gear 24. Thisgear is held in engagement with a large ring gear 25 by spring 26. Thespring `26 is coiled about rod 28 and has its upper end resting againstthe upper arm 21 and has its lower end anchored to the casing of pivot29 as indicated. The rod 28 is journalled in pivots 29 and 30 and hasrigidly secured thereto the arms 21 In which is journalled the shaft I1.Thus the spring 26 operating between the upper arm 21 and between thecasing of pivot 29, which is secured to the frame of the machine, tendsto rotate the rod 28 and upper and lower arms 21 to yieldably force thefriction gear 24 against the ring gear 25.

The ring gear 25 is secured to a vertical shaft 3l journaled in a hub 32which extends up into the casing I2 above the water line. At the top ofthe hub 32 and secured to the shaft 3I is a cup 33 which serves as oneelement of a flexible driving connection adapted to produce a gyratingmotion in the basket 23. A projection 34 from the bottom of the basket23 is formed with a hemispherical end adapted to fit into thedepressions 35 of the cup 33 and it may be driven with the rotation ofthe cup 33 by engagement with the partitions 36 which separate thedepressions 35 of the cup 33. In the embodiment illustrated in Figures 1and 4 the cup 33 is made in the form of a rosette and the depressionsare in the form of channels or grooves which lead outwardly from thecenter. This construction is advantageous since the lowering of theprojection 34 into engagement with the cup 33 near its center causes atrst only a. slight gyration due to the short radius at which the cupacts upon the projection 34. However, as the basket assumes itsgyrational motion the projection 34 is driven toward the edge of the cupby centrifugal force. In the example illustrated in Figures 1 and 4, aslope toward the outside is also provided so that the force of gravityis added to the centrifugal force.

With this construction the inertia of the basket is overcome graduallyand without excessive starting torque. Thus the projection 34 can engagein one of the depressions 35 without slipping around the cup 33 orjumping over the partitions 36. Ifl this latter should happen due to thebasket being lowered when away from its vertical position no injury willbe done and the only objection would be the unpleasant noise andvibration which will result. The rim of the cup 33 may also serve whenthe basket is in the spinning position tolimit the outward swing of thebasket 23 by engaging its projection 34.

'I'he shaft I1 is also connected through the flexible shaft 31 to afriction gear 38. The ilexible shaft 31 together with its housing in theembodiment illustrated passes through the U -shaped frame I0 and intothe housing 39. The friction gear 38 is adapted to drive the gear 40when the latter is in its raised position and the friction gear 40 iskeyed to the spinning shaft 4I which serves to spin the basket 23through the flexible coupling 42 and the shaft 43. In the presentembodiment the friction wheel 4I) is keyed to the shaft 4I by fluting onthe shaft and is mounted so as to slide somewhat on the fluting. Thefriction wheel 40 in this construction is spring-pressed upwardly byspring IUD acting against pin IIII fastened to the shaft 4I so that itwill operatively engage the friction gear 38 before the handle 41 ismoved quite to its highest position and will be spring-pressed againstthe friction gear 38 with sufficient force to transmit the necessarytorque. I'he shaft 43 is journaled in a housing 44 so as to be rotatabletherein but xed thereto axially. The housing 44 forms the movable memberof the universal joint 45. The supporting membei` 46 of the universaljoint 45 is carried in the housing 39 by a handle 41 and stud 48,secured thereto and which pass through slots 49 in the housing 39 so asto slide on the bottoms of said slots when the member 46 is rotated bymeans of the liandle 41. The slots 49 in the present emwbodiment aremade with two sloping portions slot 49, when the friction gear 40 is inengagement with the friction gear 38 and is therefore being rotated, ifthe handle 41 is moved onto the dweil of the slot 49, the gear 40 islowered onto the brake 50, which brake serves to arrest the rotation ofthe friction gearing 49 and therefore of the basket 23. If the handle 41is now further moved into its lowest position the weight of the basketcompresses the springs 52, thus maintaining the braking action of thebrake 50, but permitting the basket 23 to be lowered so that itsprojection 34 engages the cup 33. In this position the basket be gyratedby the cups 33, but the brake 56 will prevent its rotation during thegyrating movement.

Within the supporting member 46 a. band of friction material 53 ismounted so as to form the actual bearing surface on which the housing 44is supported. If the friction surface is not sufiicient of itself toprovide the friction necessary, a spring 15 may be used to press thehousing 44 against the friction material 53 and thereby increase theresistance to precessional movements. When the handle 41 is moved to itslowest position in the slot 49 the supporting member 46 is loweredsufciently so that the friction material 53 no longer contacts with thehousing 44. In this position the basket is free to gyrate without anyhindrance from the friction material 53. However, when the handle 41 ismoved to the upper part of its slot in which position the friction gears38 and 40 are in engagement and the basket is being rotated at a highspeed the entire weight of the basket and its contents is supported onthe friction material 53 and the latter therefore offers a verysubstantial resistance to any gyratory motion. The force which thisresistance exerts on the housing 44 is always opposed to the directionof precession due to gravity. The direction of the force which opposesthe precession due to gravity is always such as to cause a secondaryprecession of the axis of rotation back toward the vertical. Thus by thesimple expedient of providing a brake (friction material 53) in theuniversal joint I am able to substantially prevent precession of thebasket due to gravity and yet to permit the basket to assume whateverposition is necessary to bring the center of mass of it and its contentsvertically beneath the center of the flexible coupling 42. In thismanner I am able to stabilize the basket and to make it self-balancing.

The strainer 20 in the embodiment illustrated in the drawings isprovided with a handle 55 extending above the water level so that incase .housing 44 andthe projection 34 the strainer should become cloggedwith lint or other material it may be removed for cleaning without thenecessity for reaching below` the water level.

In order to provide for the easy removal of the basket 23, for cleaningthe machinev or for any other purpose, the basket is held to the hub 56by a wing nut 51 andy is keyed thereto by means of studs 58. However,for simply cleaning the machine itis unnecessary to remove the basket,but it may be readily swung to one side or the other topermit readyaccess to the bottom of the casing I2.

At the bottom of the frame I0 I have provided casters 60 which aremounted in tubular openings 6|. Above the casters in these openings aresprings 62 which are of suiilcient strength to hom the caster wheel awayfrom the skirt s3 of the frame I0, so long as the machine is not loaded.As soon as the casing I2 is lled with water to the indicated water line,however,v the weight of the machine is so far increased as to compressthe springs 62 and cause the skirts 63 to be pressed against the wheelsof the casters 60. Thus the machine may be readily rolled around whenempty, but. when operating, the wheels of the casters are locked andthus the creeping" which might otherwise result from the slightvibration due to the operation of the motor and other rotating parts isavoided.

In the preferred operation of the apparatus just described the casing I2is rst `l1ed with hot water to the water line I3. To this is added asuitable amount of soap to produce the desired washing liquid. When thisis done the springs 62 are compressed and the casters 60 are locked asalready described. A valve I22 in the pipe 22 is closed to prevent theliquid being drawn from the casing by the pump and theA motor I8 is thenstarted. If the basket 23 is engaged either with the cup 33 or throughthe friction gear 49 with the gear 38, the friction gearing I5 and I6between the motor and the shaft I1 or the friction gearing 24 and 25 or38 and 40 between the shaft 31 and the basket may slip a. little atfirst so as to during starting. It is preferable, however, to have thehandle 41 positioned on the dwell in the slot 49 so that the basket 23is disengaged from both the gear 38 and the gyrating cup 33.

Thus the load on the motor will be light and J there will be noslippage.

The clothes in the meantime have been put into the basket 23 and thevalve |22 is opened to permit the water from pumped into the basket.'I'he handle 41 is now moved into the lowest part of the slot, so thatthe friction band 53 in the supporting member 46 of 'the universal joint45 is released from the at the same time is engaged by the cup 33. Sincethe cup, in the embodiment illustrated and thus far described, iscontinuously rotated, the gyrating movement of the basket will beginalmost as soon as the projection 34 touches near the center of the cup33 and will increase until the projection 34 has been moved bycentrifugal force and by gravity to the outer edge of the cup.

The basket 23, as shown in Figure 1, is made with its outer sidessloping outward slightly toward the top. Near the top are openings orperforations 64 and above the top the supporting frame 65 projectsinward slightly so as to form a rim to prevent the clothes from rising,due to centrifugal force, over the top of the walls.

avoid excessive load on the motor the reservoir to be Near the center ofthe bottom of the basket 23 are other openings 66; but between theopenings 64 and the openings 66 the basket is substantially imperforate.Under the iniiuence of the gyrating motion the body of liquid andclothes is continually being lifted and shifted in the direction ofgyration so that it tends to assume an annular form which issubstantially horizontal and in which the liquid flows in the directionof gyration. As one side reaches its lowest position, as shown at theright of Figure 2, the body of water tends to fall under the inuence ofgravity while in the other side, which simultaneously reaches a positionfarthest from the axis of gyration, the body of liquid tends, under theinfluence of centrifugal force, to spread out toward the receding wallof the basket 23. As the gyration continues the right hand side of thebasket is raised and moved outward while the left hand side is loweredand moved inward. The result is that the stream of water is battered bythe walls of the basket 23, by the side wall on the left in this case,and by the bottom on the right. In addition to this natural agitationresulting from the rapid gyration I have also provided, in the presentembodiment of the invention, baffles 61 whichtend to interrupt ordisturb the circular iiow which would otherwise occur.

It will be observed that in the washing operation as just described, acontinual supply of fresh liquid will be entering the basket through thenozzle of the pipe 22. Obviously, the excess liquid must also flow backinto the casing l2 and this will occur partly through the openings 64and partly through the openings 66. This overflow, however, will be fromthe edges of ihe body of liquid since the inertia of the body wil tendto throw the main part into the imperforate portion of thebasket betweenthe openings 64 and the openings 66. In this way the clothes arethoroughly agitated in a constantly changing bath of washing liquid andthe excess bath is drawn away without having to pass through theclothes. If the walls of the basket between the upper rim and the centerof the bottom were perforate the centrifugal action would tend to forcethe water through such perforations and consequently to hold the clothesagainst this portion of the wall. The result would be to impair the freeagitation of the clothes in the body of liquid and also to cause atleast some of the liquid to pass through the clothes in such a way thatthe clothes would tend to filter the water and thus reverse the washingaction. If the perforation in this area is slight the impairment of thewashing action if it occurs at all will also be slight. Even if theperforation is sufficiently great to impair some of the advantages justdescribed, nevertheless other advantages of my invention will beattained and I do not therefore intend to exclude such a constructionfrom the scope of my invention.

When the washing operation is complete the valve |22 is closed so as tostop or divert the flow into the basket. The handle 41 is then movedinto the upper part of its slot 49 so as to engage the friction gear 38with the gear 4|! and at the same time raising the basket to disengagethe projection 34 from the gyrating cup 33. When the gear 40 is thusraised it is released from the brake 5U, which has held it againstrotation during the washing operation; and at the same time thesupporting member 46 of the universal joint 45 engages the housing 44through the friction material 53 in' order to oppose any gyrationalmovements during the spinning operation. When the basket is tend to fallback onto the bottom of the basket 23 and the liquid to run out throughthe openings 66. If the handle 41 were moved only onto the dwell of theslot 49 this draining through the opening 66 would continue. However,when the handle 41 A is moved into its highest position so that thebasket is rotated through the lgearing 38 and 40 and flexible coupling42, the centrifugal force resulting from the rapid rotation drives theclothes outwardly against the walls of the basket; and, due to theslight slope of the walls, the liquid will rise under the influence ofcentrifugal force and pass out through the perforations 64. The clothes,on the other hand, will be held against the wall both by friction and bythe restraining rim 65. Thus the clothes are effectively freed from theexcess liquid. If it is desired also io rinse clothes in this operationclear water may be allowed to flow into the center of the rotatingbasket, or the washing operation may be repeated with clear waterflowing into the basket and the drying operation repeated to remove theexcess rinse water.

When the drying operation is completed the handle 41 is moved back ontothe dwell in the cam slot 49. This disengages the gear 40 from the gear38 and at the same time engages the gear 40 with the brake 50 so as tostop further spinning of the basket.

In Figures 5 and 6, I have illustrated modified drive connections. Inthis case the gyrating cup,

as illustrated in'Flgure 5, is made with a series.

of depressions in a ledge near the outside of the cup while the innerpart of the cup is substantially lower. The rotating drive connection inthis case includes, as shown in Figure 6, a friction wheel 40a to engagethe friction gear 38 and a stop 10 engaging dogs 1| on the back of thefriction wheel 40. In this'embodixnent no handle 41 0 or cam slots 49are necessary. When the washing operation is to be begun the basket isgrasped manually and lifted so that its projection 34 falls into one ofthe depressions 35 in the gyrating cup 53. The motor is then started andrun until the washing operation is complete. The motor is then shut offor released by suitable means from the drive connections and thebasketis again manually raised out of the depression 35 and permittedtrai part of the cup 33 and the housing 44 is engaged on the frictionmaterial 53. This also permits the friction wheel 40a to drop' intoengagement with the friction wheel 38. The fluting of the shaft 4|permits the housing 44 to fall completely into engagement with thefriction material 53, while the spring 12 serves to hold the frictionwheel 40a in engagement with the gear 38. A collar 13 on the shaft 4|below the hub of the friction wheel 40a serves to raise the frictionwheel 40 against the pressure of the spring 12 when the basket 23 israised as already described. The operation of this modification exceptfor the method of changing it from the Washing to to fall so that theprojection 34 falls into the cen-1:60

the drying positions is substantially the same as that alreadydescribed.

Although I have described above a preferred embodiment and onemodification thereof, it will be understood that these are onlyillustrative of my invention and that the invention may be embodied inmany other forms.

Many othcr changes than those specifically enumerated may be made withinthe scope of my invention and without departing from the scope of thisapplication and in so far as the advantages of my invention or any ofthem are attained by the same or similar means I intend to include suchstructures within the scope of this application.

In the accompanying claims I have used the term ,basket as including notonly the basket proper which I have indicated on the drawings by thenumeral 23 but also such parts as rotate with the basket and on the sameaxis and particularly the projection 34, the supporting frame 65 and theshaft 43. This is for thesake of brevity since these parts aiect thebalance and must swing with the basket proper.

I claimz- 1. A washing machine comprising a basket havlng sides whichslope vslightly away from its axis toward the top, having means forpreventing objects being Washed from rising over the top of said basketunder iniiuence of centrifugal force, having openings near its Widestpart to permit escape of water by centrifugal force and a bottom withopenings ,near the center 'at substantially the lowest part of thebottom to permit escape of water by gravity when said basket is at rest;means for spinning said basket about a vertical axis, a universal pivotfor the basket, and means for gyrating said basket about said pivotsubstantially above the bottom of the basket.

2. In a washing and drying machine, a basket, a universal pivot deviceon the axis of said basket and connected thereto, means for gyratingsaid basket about said universal pivot device for washing purposes, andmeans for spinning said basket `about its axis for drying.

3. A washing machine comprising a basket, a universal pivot, means forconnecting the upper part of said basket to said pivot, a projection onthe lower part of said basket, a rotatable cup below said basket havingdepressions in its bottom near the periphery thereof, means for causingsaid projection and said cup to engage, and means for gyrating saidbasket by rotating said cup with l said projection disposed in one ofsaid depressions.

4. A washing machine comprising a basket, means including a verticallyadjustable universal pivot for supporting the basket from above and soas to permit rotation or gyration thereof, means operating through sai-duniversal pivot for spinning said basket, means for gyrating the basket,said gyrating means comprising a projection on the bottom of the basketand a rotatable cup therebeneath having depressions formed in its bottomnear its periphery and the remainder of its bottom having means so thatthe projection will, if dropped anywhere within said cup, be led intoone of said depressions by the forces acting cn the basket.

5. In a gyrating device, a gyrating member, a universal pivot, meansholding one end of said gyrating member by said universal pivot, a r0-tating member having on its end a cup formed with depressions adjacentits periphery and guide channels leading from the center to saiddepressions, a projection mounted centrally upon the gyrating member soas to project centrally into said cup when the gyrating member is atrest and freely supported on said pivot, means for relatively movingsaid projection and cups together so that said projection is engagedfirst in said channels and then in said depressions, whereby the cupwill act upon said projection first on a short radius and on a longerradius only as the inertia of the gyrating member is overcome.

6. A washing machine comprising a rotatable basket for holding objectsto be washed, a support above said basket, means for suspending saidbasket from said support, so as to permit rotation and free movement ofthe basket with its axis assuming any position within a limited cone,means for gyrating said basket about its support for washing, and meansfor spinning the basket for drying.

7. A washing machine comprising a rotatable basket for holding objectsto be washed, a support above said basket, means for suspending saidbasket from said support to permit rotation and free movement of thebasket so that its axis may assume any position within a limited cone,means for spinning said basket, means for gyrating said basket about itssupport, means for resisting spinning of said basket during itsgyration, means for resisting gyration of the basket during itsspinning, and means for selectively applying to said basket saidgyration resisting means and said spinning means on the one hand or saidgyrating means and said spinning resisting means on the other hand.

8. In a washing machine, a machine body, a

tank on said body, operating devices for causing said tank to vibrate, aplurality of rollers supporting said body on'the floor, spring devicesoperating between said rollers and body and of sumcient strength to holdsaid. body clear of said rollers when the tank is empty, said springmeans being sufficiently weak to permit said body to engage said rollerswhen the tank is lled to prevent rolling movement of the machine on thefloor.

, 9. In a centrifugal machine, a basket, a support above said basket, avertical drive shaft journalled in said support, a basket shaft securedto said basket, a universal joint connecting said drive shaft and basketshaft, frictional ball and socket members concentric with said universaljoint, means for securing one of said members to said support, means forjournalling the other of said members on said basket shaft, means fortransferring the weight of said basket to said support, whereby saidball and socket members exert a frictional retarding force on saidbasket, when it precesses, to overcome such precession, said force beingin a direction tangential to the path of precession.

10. In a centrifugal apparatus, a rotatable basket, a support for saidbasket, means for unij while the basket is spinning, a resultant netcorrective force in a direction tangential to the path of precession ofsaid basket without affecting substantially the speed of spinning of thebasket, whereby to overcome precession of said basket.-

11. In a centrifugal apparatus, a rotatable body,

a support for said body, means for universally mounting said body onsaid support to permit perfect self-balancing thereof, means forspinning said body about an axis passing through the center of gravitythereof, means for applyingto said body a resultant net corrective forcein a direction tangential to the path of precession of said body as apart of the spinning operation, whereby to overcome precession of saidbody.

12. In a centrifugal `apparatus, a rotatable basket, a support abovesaid basket, means for universally suspending said basket from saidsupport to' permit perfect self-balancing of the basket and itscontents, means for freely spinning said basket about an axis passingthrough the center of gravity of the basket and its contents, meansnormally in position for applying to said basket continuously during thespinning operation for the purpose of overcoming precession a resultantnet corrective force in a direction tangential to the path ofprecession, said resultant net corrective force being directed oppositeto the precessional movement, such corrective force being set up by theprecessional movement.

13. A centrifugal apparatus comprising a rotatable basket, means foruniversally supporting 'said basket from above to permit perfectselfbalancing thereof, means for freely spinning said basket about anaxis passing through the center of gravity of the basket and itscontents, and means for applying the force of friction as the principalactive force to resist precession concurrently during the spinningoperation.

14. In a centrifugal machine, a basket, means for spinning said basket,a support above said basket, a basket shaft secured to said basket,friction members, means for securing one of said members to said supportand for journalling the other of said members on said basket shaft insuch manner that said members rub against each other when the basketprocesses, and means for transferring the weight of said basket to saidsupport, whereby said friction members during precession exert africtional retarding force on said basket in a direction tangential tothe path of precession. l

15. In a centrifugal machine, a basket, a shaft attached to said basket,a support for said basket, meansl for spinning said basket, means fortransferring the weight of said basket to said support, a set ofstabilizing members, means for journalling one of said members on saidshaft, means for securingthe other of said members to said support, andmeans for applying during precession a net tangential corrective forcefrom one said stabilizing members to the other tangential to the path ofprecession and in'such direction to overcome such precession.

16. In a clothes washer and drier embodying centrifugal apparatus fordrying, a rotatable receptacle, a support for said receptacle, means foruniversally mounting said receptacle on said support to permit perfectself-balancing thereof, means for spinning said receptacle about an axispassing through the center of gravity thereof, means for applying tosaid receptacle a resultant net corrective force in a directionsubstantially tangential to the path of precession of said body as apart of the spinning operation, whereby to overcome precession of saidreceptacle.

17. In a centrifugal machine, a rotatable basket having a shaft securedthereto on the axis thereof, a support for said basket, devices foruniversally mounting said basket on said support to exert a radial forceon said basket when it is displaced from central vertical position, saidmounting devices including frictonal spherical stabilizing members, oneof which is secured to said support, the other constituting a sleevejournalling said shaft, spring devices for tightly engaging thefrictional surfaces of said stabilizing members, driving means engagingsaid shaft to spin said basket, whereby said stabilizing members exert africtional retarding force on said basket, when it precesses, tangentialto the path of precession.

18. In va centrifugal apparatus, a rotatable basket, a support for saidbasket, means for universally mounting said basket on said support so asto exert a radial force on said basket when its axis passing through thecenter of gravity is displaced from central vertical position, means forspinning said basket about said axis, means for applying to said basketa resultant net corrective frictional force tangential to the path ofprecession of said basket, but opposite to the precessional movement, asa part of the spinning operation, whereby to overcome the precession ofsaid basket caused by said radial force.

JOSEPH MOTYCKA.

